Out of the Woods
by Lionus
Summary: Free of the forest and in the clear, the monsters were far more than just trees. Over the Garden Wall AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or the ideas/themes borrowed from Over the Garden Wall.

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><p><em>For Silv; thank you<em>

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><p>He swore under his breath, the chilly November air curled with his shuddered exhale - briefly fogging his view of the endless wood in front of them. A hand reached for his head, his fingers threading through his already messy hair. A twinge crept along his temple and he flinched, none of this was settling quite right. Panic wouldn't do him any good, he noted that it didn't really swell or bloom in his ribcage like so many people said happened to anyone that found themselves in the forest.<p>

His ruddy colored eyes squinted and he hummed low in his throat. No panic or even overt concern, just a strange inkling that he couldn't _quite_ put his finger on. A tug on his shirt sleeve brought him from his reverie and he glanced down to the girl at his side.

A wrinkle marred her smooth brow as she slowly scanned their surroundings as well. "Maybe retracing our steps will get us back?"

His brow lowered in thought, weighing the options before him. The dark-haired boy looked over his shoulder and frowned - another endless passage of forest stretched out, fading darker and darker as he tried to refocus his vision to see farther beyond the line of trees. "Doubtful."

He tried to think back - how on earth had they managed to get here in the first place? There were the bleary images of him first waking and brushing his teeth and going to work and then, the call from Wendy's mom, Grandine. The snort of derision from his father as he made some joke about _his_ son being paid and trusted with the care of someone's kid, even if it was his cousin. The back of his hand still held the diminishing scrapes from the younger girl's cat that had given him one _hellacious_ greeting when he had entered the house. The corners of his mouth pulled down sourly, Wendy had been nagging him about going to the park shortly after he arrived and the park was connected to the wood, so they must have just taken a wrong turn down one of the older paths. He'd stupidly gotten lost in his thoughts and allowed the preteen to lead the way as she chattered on as if he were listening.

The kid had no sense of direction - she could lose her way in a paper bag without a problem.

If they kept walking they'd eventually hit the back of the property and find the road that wound to the front of the park, follow that and be back on their way home. Where he would promptly bribe Wendy with pizza and soda and rent a new movie she claimed to _'just love'_. Grandine and his dad would be the none-the-wiser, Wendy'd be safe and sound, and he'd be 40 bucks richer.

"Our parents are gonna ground us for eternity, Gajeel."

Gajeel scoffed, shoving his hands in his pockets and ducking his head against the brisk breeze. "Again - doubtful. I was the one watchin' you, remember?" He spared his younger cousin a wry smile, the movement quirking up one corner of his mouth. "'m responsible for you, kid."

"Which is hilarious in hindsight. I mean, you usually scare small children away with that permanent glower of yours and babysitter does not come to mind when people think Gajeel Redfox. Plus, you can be about as capable as Natsu is depending on the da-"

He clapped a hand over her mouth and glared. "It was either me 'r the older woman down the street, smart mouth. Yer mom dishes out the orders and I take 'em for eight bucks an hour."

Wendy glared up at him and pouted. "Y'know I'm not a little kid anymore."

The young man sighed, kicking his boots through the leaves and crunching them under his heavy gait. "Yeah, yeah. Bein' eleven's real thrilling and grown up."

It was her turn to scoff, her derision puffing out in a quickly dissipating cloud of condensation. "Ain't _that_ just the way." Gajeel rolled his eyes, but didn't comment further. Maturity and age was a sore topic since ten ticked up to eleven and one graduation ceremony later found the girl in the hallowed halls of junior high. Personally, he thought she was capable of taking care of herself if she stayed home alone after school until her mom got off work. But he didn't call the shots - Grandine did and his father had made sure to press upon Gajeel his own lecture on being capable - something about being an example - and acting his age (halfway to 20 and his old man _still_ insisted on calling him 'brat') around Wendy.

With that in mind, he forewent an evening to himself.

He measured his steps, making sure to keep her within his sight. The wood they'd found themselves wandering in didn't have the prettiest reputation. Even in the bitter beginnings of winter, the trees stood tall and thick, their bare branches tangling and pressing in on each other allowing scant light, let alone a sliver of skyline, from up ahead. A tree warped from age and _who knew what else_ seemed to open its mouth to them. Angry marks from an ax only seemed to feed the trees forlorn and mangled look, someone trying to steal city property for their fireplace no doubt.

The branches seemed to reach out in an attempt to catch in their jackets and pant legs - to coil around their elbows and knees and tugging harshly in their hair to keep the pair in place.

Gajeel's eye slid to catch another look at Wendy from his peripheral vision, closely watching her as she seemed to study the same creepy tree. Her slim throat worked around a silent gulp as she consciously took a step closer to him, not a missing a step in her pace as she snapped her gaze forward. She shook her head, newly chopped locks snapping against her cheeks.

She muttered to herself over and over again, he almost couldn't make heads or tails of her words, but he thought it sounded something like _'It's just your imagination'_.

Her chanted mantra echoed in his own mind.

Gajeel set his mouth in a firm line and straightened his posture - he was still in charge and it wasn't going to do either of them any good if he lost his own head and freaked her out more. He worked to settle his heartbeat as he closed his eyes. It was just a forest, people went through here all the time. They were bound to run into a sign or someone who could give them directions sooner or later. They could do this.

"_WHOO-!"_

The noise startled him, his eyes shooting back open to catch sight of large eyes and even larger pupils.

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><p>Piercing gold eyes gleamed and struck Wendy like a physical blow. The wide unblinking stare demanded her attention and fear up front. The owl careened out of the rotted tree, just managing not to collide with the teenagers. Her blunt nails snatched in Gajeel's jacket and dug into his arm, her ear-shattering shriek echoed endlessly in the forest.<p>

The owl answered it with an unholy screech of its own - in retaliation or its own feeling of being startled, Wendy couldn't be sure. She huffed into her cousin's side, working to catch her breath and stop her knees from shaking.

Gajeel stood perfectly still - keeping his pokerface firmly in place to avoid frightening Wendy more…Lest he wind up carrying her back home as she koala-d herself to him like that time he let her watch a 'scary' movie.

Wendy shivered as she eased herself away from the reassuring wall of heat Gajeel emitted. "W-we're so gonna get eaten."

"We're _not_ gonna get eaten." He didn't look at her as he gripped her hand tightly, a held breath left her in a _whoosh_ as she squeezed his hand in response.

The faint tickle at his temple throbbed dully once more. It was going to be a long night.

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><p><strong>AN: **I'm going to go out on a limb and say you don't have to watch the show to be able to read/understand this story. Though, I think it would definitely make it easier to follow? But also because the show is beautifully done and it's such masterful storytelling, I can't say enough good things about it.

This is a pretty short start, I just wanted to go out on a limb (tree humor lol) and get the idea out there. Also, I'm not sure I'm back to writing. This was something I wanted to do and I'm hesitant to say I'm getting back on the horse after being knocked down for two weeks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail, any publicly recognized figures, or ideas/themes used from Over the Garden Wall.

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><p>"So, they asked Chelia if she'd date Romeo and when she said no, <em>I<em> got put in the hot seat." Wendy threw her hands out in front of her, her voice rising with her frustration. "I said of course not, we're just friends! Chelia, Romeo, and I are like the Three Musketeers! The Three _Caballeros_!"

He rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "Three Stooges is more like it."

Either ignoring or not hearing him, she continued. "But what's with all of this? Why does anyone have to like _like_ one of their best friends!? We're 11 and Romeo still forgets to put on deodorant from time to time!"

Gajeel snorted, "Things are only gonna get weirder, hate ta break it to ya."t

"And I've seen what the couples to at lunch tables and I like eating with both hands, thank you. Constantly holding someone else's hand can't be good for your health, though I bet the germs are having a real rager."

"Wait a second, how do you know what 'rager' means?" He jerked with surprise, Wendy was one of the more sheltered kids he knew - her mother made sure she knew what she should and what she didn't. He was fairly certain that if Grandine found out that Wendy had the vocabulary of a freshman frat, he and Natsu would be in deep. More him than that hot head, since he was the one actually _in_ college. There wasn't a doubt in Gajeel's mind that the word had slipped in one of Natsu's infamous spiels about what he thought college was going to be like - unknowingly educating little ears that needed to stay little for a few years yet.

Without acknowledging his shock - let alone that he spoke - Wendy Marvell plowed on with a gusto that was mildly worrying. She had great breathing control and a set of lungs on her that hadn't left after her infancy. Gajeel blanched as he recalled the howling shrieks that split the sound barrier practically in two when she wanted the tri-state area to know that she was hungry.

"And Jenny Realight, Chelia's older cousin, says-"

"_Hey!" _The call echoed in the empty woods, the racket causing the pulse at his temple to flare up once more. A panic followed, quick and quiet as a hiccup as something inside him begged for silence.

Wendy startled, squeaking as the rest of her sentence died on her tongue. She shifted closer to her cousin and glanced around, whispering into the back of his jacket. "Wh-Who's there?"

He shook his head, he was going to chalk the strange reaction he had up to hunger and the fact that Wendy had been going nonstop, so his nerves must have been shot. Gajeel huffed out a frustrated _finally_ - Wendy had talked for at least twenty minutes without a break - and spun on his heel, scanning the area to make heads or tails of which direction the voice had come from. The wood had an eerie way of carrying voices. "Y-Yeah?"

A soft, breathy chuckle and then, "Pardon me, I don't usually interrupt someone, but you were hardly stopping to breathe." Gajeel heard Wendy gulp and the mysterious voice softened more, a subtle coo slowing their words. "I didn't mean to scare you. I only wanted to ask you something. You're lost, yeah?"

He furrowed his brow and met Wendy's wide eyes. The little girl shrugged her shoulders, mouthing a _'go on'_. "Kinda."

"I could guide you back."

"Ah, you don't have to - directions back to the main path or the road would be enough. I can get us back the rest of the way." Gajeel curiously looked at Wendy as she craned her head and body in all directions, trying like him to find the source of the voice.

"It wouldn't be any trouble, I've been through here more than enough times to know the trails like the back of my hand. Besides, I'm headed that way."

"Sure…Thanks. But, uh, where _are_ you? Just so I know yer not some disembodied voice or poltergeist or whatever."

The feminine voice hummed, a quiet trill underlying the smooth warmth of their tone. "Right, up here."

In tandem, the cousins leaned their heads back and studied the branches, the plumage of bright blue caught their eyes immediately. The soft orange ring around her neck and stark white of her belly were hard to miss against the drab bark. Gajeel scowled, warning bells going off shrilly in his head as the twinge at his temple made itself plenty known.

"You've _gotta_ be ki-"

"She's _beautiful!"_ Gajeel scowled at Wendy's proclamation, her dark eyes shone with that tell-tale sign that things were going to go terribly wrong for him and perfectly hunky dory for her.

The bluebird laughed, the sound much more boisterous from her light chuckle before and impossibly too big for such a small body. She brought one of her crisp and pretty wings up to hide her beak as she laughed. The usually quick and suspicious glances of her fellow bird missing from her lingering gaze that glittered with mirth. There was a level of _knowing_ so obvious in her movements as she fluttered down to a lower branch. Though, what a bluebird could possibly know completely escaped Gajeel.

The uncanny sight almost had him taking a few steps back in shock

"I tend to get the first reaction more than the latter, but thank you, all the same." Her head tilted to the side and she winked, eliciting a bubbly giggle from his younger cousin as she stepped away from his shadow to get a better look.

Gajeel cut his eyebrow up at the bird, deciding to keep a comfortable distance between him and her perch. Wendy was enraptured, but he wasn't distracted so easily, suspicion crested like a wave at the back of his head. Talking birds weren't exactly common where he came from, but the distinction in her expressions is what caught his attention the most. Gajeel folded his arms and glared up at the tuft ball of feathers. "You usually run into complete strangers and start a gab fest with 'em?"

Something flashed in her eye and he got the feeling that if she had eyebrows, one would have risen up with the obvious answer of _challenge accepted_. "Only lost youths with no purpose in life."

"She's great, let's take her back with us." The tumble of words left Wendy in a rush and he barely had enough time to catch her when she stretched out her hand, raising her arm up high in silent invitation for the bluebird to land there when Gajeel yanked her back by the collar.

"I don't think so, kid. Birds aren't supposed to _talk_, Wen, or did you forget that subtle detail between breakfast and now?" He pulled her a step back, casting dark glances to the bird high in the tree, his distrust clear and stark in the ruddy color. "Besides, birds carry diseases and aren't capable of speech with their brain the size of a pea-"

"_Excuse me?"_ With one graceful sweep and leap, she was before him in a blink. Her wings stirred the air in front of his face with her close proximity causing him to squint. Nearly nose to beak with the gruff teenager, she was braver than most, unflinching even when he blew a harsh breath at her face in retaliation. "I may be a bird, but I bet I've got a sharper mind than _you_. _I'm_ not the one that managed to get himself hopelessly lost in a forest."

"You must be a real favorite back at the nest with that silver tongue of yers." He shuffled Wendy behind him, ignoring the girl's indignant protests and weak punches at his back. Gajeel swept an arm up, causing the bird to fall back to avoid being knocked down. "Beat it, swallow."

"I'm a _bluebird_!" Her feet clenched and unclenched in her anger as she very briefly pointed a wing at him. "Fine then - insult your _only_ hope to getting back home. I'll spread word of you to my brethren and have them pluck out that ridiculous hair of yours follicle by follicle."

"Well, here's hopin' they don't yap half as much as you do, _blue_."

The little bird flustered in the air, her feathers puffing out and the smooth white of her cheeks becoming red from her frustration. She snarled at Gajeel, whatever venom it was meant to hold ruined by her delicate features. She zipped away in a huff, purposely crashing her way violently through the treetops to drop branches and leaves on the source of her derision. "Good luck getting back on your own! And good luck to that poor, little nice girl at your side!"

Wendy frowned and folded her arms over her chest as she watched Gajeel start to pull the twigs from his thick hair and duck a sizable pinecone. "Nice going. You should write a book. You could title it 'How to Insult Nature in Five Minutes or Less'."

He seemed to not have heard his younger cousin as he leaned over and carded his hands through his hair to ensure he got all the wildlife out of it. "_Tch_, bluebird, _my ass._ Damn pixie's more like it." Gajeel took off his jacket and shook it, glowering as a bug fell from the sleeve and scuttled away from his harsh treatment.

The younger girl dropped her arms and sighed, "C'mon, we need to get going."

Gajeel shrugged his jacket back on and set a wide palm on the girl's head, giving her hair an affectionate ruffle that had it sticking in all directions when he was done. "You're just going brush off the fact that a bird spoke to us and you contemplated taking her home or what?"

She rolled her eyes, used to the endearment and all but given up on his lack of manners. Wendy combed her fingers through her hair to smooth it back down, grimacing when she found a tangle. "Gonna brush it off for now." Without another word, she stepped forward, her frustration with him rolling off her slight frame in waves. He shuddered to think how good she was with guilt tripping him about his people skills like his aunt and mother were - and at such a tender age to boot.

"Well, all right then." He followed behind her and tried not to ponder their strange encounter further. Talking birds didn't exist and someone had probably set it up to screw around with people. Probably an animatronic left over from a haunted Halloween maze. The Creature Shop had definitely up'd its game since he was a kid.

The pair walked on for what felt like years to him - Wendy's forced silence was uncannily honed for someone her age; definitely too much of theirs mothers' influences. He could feel a little of his own irritation growing as he still couldn't pinpoint where they were or if they had even succeeded in _not_ walking in circles. The damn wood acted like a cheesy Hollywood scenery reel and it was driving him out of his skin that he was unable to tell. Not to mention, he didn't need to walk right back into that bloody pixie so she could gloat in his face.

He was this close to doing a little of his own defacing of government property so he would know once and for all.

Gajeel scrubbed a hand over his cheek and doubled his pace to cut the distance Wendy had put between them. Talking birds were a dime a dozen in cartoons, but in this wood - in reality - there was bound to be more than something so innocent…and what appeared on the surface. "Wendy."

"Yeah." Clipped tone and avoiding eye contact - he was screwed. She'd do away with his body long before some angry bluebird brethren carried him off at this rate.

"I know you're the friendliest damn treasure to ever grace the planet and there's not a soul in the world that could harbor a bad thought toward you, but things aren't always that simple." He groaned and caught her shoulder to turn her toward him. "You know I'm just lookin' out for ya, right?"

She kicked the dry leaves at her feet shyly. "Yeah, I know. Mama said it wouldn't always be easy being looked after, especially if it was Natsu."

Gajeel guffawed, reaching to ruffle her hair once more. "I knew there was a reason I liked you." He cleared his throat and eyed the trail around them. "Just, uh, be on yer toes. I mean, birds don't talk."

Wendy cocked her head at him, a cheeky smirk easing itself into the corner of her mouth. "Are you asking me for confirmation."

"_Brat_." She proudly stuck her tongue out at him, the endearment long familiar between a Redfox and one of his family members. He pressed his wide palm to the side of her head, gently shoving her face away from him. "Whether she was good or not, it's not wise to blindly make friends with everything that says hi and likes yer compliments." He tucked his hands in his jacket pockets and jerked his chin in the direction they were headed. "Truce? Then, once we're outta here and sure our parents aren't gonna skin us alive for this grand adventure, you can go back to makin' me miserable."

Her resulting grin very nearly cracked her face in two. "Truce, cousin o' mine."

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><p><strong>AN:** Three guesses who the sass bird is.

Wendy's 11 and Gajeel's 19 in this story. I de-aged the characters a bit so it would be plausible for Wendy to still need adult (ha!) supervision and be somewhat dependent on Gajeel to keep her safe. The beginning of this story isn't meant to trash any ships, though I prefer to keep Wendy out of them, but simply Wendy being 11 and trying to adjust to junior high and what all that entails. It's more of a joke on Gajeel than anything, he's terrible with these kind of situations.

Enjoy the lightheartedness found here, next chapter is when the real fun begins.


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